Gazprom announced that it is impossible to return the Nord Stream engine from Germany to Russia. The reason is the sanctions against Moscow.
“The sanctions regimes of Canada, the EU, the UK and the inconsistency of the current situation with Siemens’ current contractual obligations make the delivery of the 073 engine to Portovaya CS impossible,” the Russian holding said in a Telegram. Message.
Christian Bruch, formerly president of Germany’s Siemens Energy (the company that serves the motors for Nord Stream) knowledgeableHe said that the turbine was not sent to the Russian Federation due to the “indifference of the Russian side”. “From our point of view all documents, customs documents <…> ready, but we need the participation of the customer, namely Gazprom. Not yet,” he said.
German government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner also said that no additional guarantees are required to ship the turbine to Russia and that FRG has allegedly taken all necessary preparatory measures.
The turbine is ready for transportation. declaration German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He personally came to Siemens Energy, where he inspected gas pipeline equipment.
“This is Siemens’ responsibility”
An alternative position was taken by Gerhard Schroeder, the former Federal Chancellor of Germany. He stated that the responsibility for the problems with the turbine, which is necessary for the full operation of Nord Stream, lies with Siemens Energy.
Schroeder emphasized that the company has delivered a turbine for Nord Stream to Mülheim an der Ruhr (a city in Germany) after maintenance in Canada.
“I do not understand why he is there and not in Russia,” the former chancellor said.
Schroeder said five turbines are needed to run the pipeline. In the unforeseen circumstances one must always be on standby, the second was in Canada at the time for repairs, the third is out of order and in need of repair, the fourth must have been checked regularly last week, and the fifth is currently pumping 30 million cubic meters of gas per day. “So we now have 20% of the normal gas volume in the pipeline. If there were just turbine No. 2, it would already be 60 million, twice as much. If I understand correctly, this is Siemens’ responsibility,” summed up Schroeder.
“Instantly ready to use”
The former chancellor flew to Moscow, where he met with President Vladimir Putin. After the talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov partially explained the content of the meeting, which was mainly devoted to the energy crisis.
“The situation with turbines. One was removed, sent to Canada for overhaul. Now he is in Germany. But there are not enough papers and the chairman explained which papers. The fact is that the German side, namely Siemens, brought this entire project under British law and British jurisdiction, and even the services under existing contracts are not carried out by the head office of the German company, but by the British subsidiary of Siemens. Under British law,” said the press secretary.
The former Chancellor also asked Putin if it was possible to use Nord Stream 2 in a critical situation. In response, the President of the Russian Federation emphasized that a large-scale work has already been carried out on this pipeline. “And this project, a complex mechanism, is ready for immediate use,” said Peskov.
Commenting on the possibility of returning the turbine, the spokesperson said, statedMoscow needs confidence that the British won’t shut down the Nord Stream turbine.
Gazprom, as the supplier and owner of this turbine, is obliged only to receive documents that this is an unauthorized product, unauthorized products … and documents on the technical condition, ”said Gazprom.
against the Germans
On July 27, Gazprom suspended the operation of another Siemens turbine, once again reducing its gas supply via Nord Stream. Now the gas pipeline is operating at only 20% of its maximum capacity. Therefore, gas prices rose sharply, approaching March records.
The next day, the mayor of seven cities and a commune on the Baltic island of Rügen appealed to the German government with a proposal to consider the use of Nord Stream 2. The appeal also criticizes the federal authorities’ decision to abandon Russian energy supplies.
On July 29, residents of Bayreuth, Germany booed German Economy Minister Robert Habeck after he made statements about the confrontation with the Russian Federation, arms supplies to Ukraine, inflation and the country’s energy crisis. Habek stressed that the FRG should become “independent from Russia” as soon as possible.